GRAPEVINE, Texas — The annual Conservative Political Action Conference was once known as the top gathering for Republicans. Presidential hopefuls flocked to the conference, as did Republican youth seeking to network with top leaders.
But after a decade of President Donald Trump’s reign, CPAC is losing its cultural relevance with the next generation of social conservatives angry over the Iran war.
The 2026 gathering in Texas, a change from the usual gathering in National Harbor, Maryland, notably lacked several high-profile speakers, including White House officials or congressional leaders. It also lacked a large contingent of young people.
“I think that maybe it’s for an older audience,” Josiah Baker, 16, from Richmond, Georgia. “I think it’s harder for people my age to come like, by themselves and whatnot, if they’re not with a group of people like I am.”
That perception was echoed by Hayden Harms, a 21-year-old student at Dallas Baptist University from Amarillo, Texas, who described CPAC as increasingly disconnected from younger conservatives.
“A lot of people that hold my views would never come to this, because this is for the establishment,” Harms said, arguing that many in his generation are engaging with politics outside traditional GOP spaces.
Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio did not attend the conference, nor did Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Many attendees at CPAC were of the Baby Boomer generation or were the eldest of the Gen X cohort. In contrast, Turning Point USA, founded by the late Charlie Kirk, has capitalized on young Republicans across the nation.
“The median age is at least 55 and over,” said Sean O’Brien, 20, from Woodbridge, Connecticut.
“This is both of our first times coming to CPAC,” added Ben Wilson, 19, from Orange, Connecticut, and a friend of O’Brien. “We kind of seem like we’re the odd ones out, more or less, because, again, yeah, there’s not too many young college students, at least from what I’ve seen.”
Others pointed to more practical reasons for the drop-off. Max Cohen, a 22-year-old entrepreneurship student originally from Indiana and now living in Tampa, said cost and timing played a major role.
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“Everything’s expensive … Money was a big thing, and timing was a big thing too,” Cohen said, noting the conference’s proximity to midterm exams and spring break.
Still, he acknowledged a broader issue: “The biggest thing is the marketing and reaching on social media.”
Adding to the lack of young people at CPAC is the ongoing split in MAGA over the Iran war, which is unpopular among the American public.
“I don’t really support the war in Iran. I don’t think it’s up to us to really police the world,” said O’Brien. “And I think I feel like many college kids share that same opinion.”
That frustration extended beyond college-aged attendees. Matthew Kingston, 26, of Lubbock, Texas, said the conflict runs counter to what many Trump voters expected.
“I personally don’t think we should be getting involved in Iran – this is definitely not what I was voting for when I voted Trump,” Kingston said. “I really want this to end soon.”
“This was supposed to be America first, not Israel first,” he added. “I support Israel, but not at the expense of the American people.”
Leeroy Ellis, a 42-year-old small business owner from Huntsville, North Carolina, struck a more mixed tone, supporting limited action but opposing a prolonged conflict.
“Not a fan of what’s happening overseas right now. I hope Trump can reverse course before too much damage is done,” Ellis said.
“I didn’t have a problem with a strike that took out the Ayatollah, but I don’t think we should have long-term military involvement.”
Harms echoed that sentiment, aligning with the party’s more non-interventionist wing.
“This is something that does not benefit Americans directly,” he said. “Why are we having to maybe put boots on the ground … if there’s no imminent nuclear threat to us?
Mariah Bader, a 23-year-old law student from the University of Wisconsin, said divisions over Iran are helping keep younger voters away from CPAC altogether.
“It seems like there is a little bit of a divide in the MAGA movement that is preventing quite a few young people from coming,” Bader said. “Rather than coming and talking… they’re just deciding not to show up.”
Bader supported U.S. involvement in Iran, arguing the stakes were too high to avoid action. “Personally, I think that going to war is something that we needed to do in this instance,” she said, citing concerns over nuclear weapons.
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Young voters also predicted significant political fallout for Republicans, warning that the party could lose control of either the House or the Senate during the November midterm elections.
“In the midterms, I think the GOP is going to get destroyed,” Harms said, arguing the party is “on its last leg” unless it adapts to a new generation of voters.
